


Switched

by InkOutsidetheLines



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Friendship, Gen, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, actions have consequences
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-12
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2018-05-06 08:31:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5410046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkOutsidetheLines/pseuds/InkOutsidetheLines
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inuyasha Higurashi led a normal life, at least until his fifteenth birthday. On that day he got dragged down a magic well that deposited him five hundred years in the past by a freakish bug woman, and things only got weirder from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Boy Who Overcame Time; And the Girl Who Was Just Overcome

“Kagome!”

Kagome turned her head, but had no time to respond before the arrow pierced her shoulder and pinned her to the tree. Uncomprehending, she stared up at the face of the woman she had thought of as a best friend and almost sister. The woman’s face was twisted with a loathing and hatred that Kagome had never expected to see on her. “Kikyo?” Kagome whispered. “But I don’t—understand.” Her consciousness slipped away from her, and Kagome’s world faded into black.

* * *

 

Inuyasha Higurashi stepped out of his house and stretched in the fresh morning air. It was a perfect day, bright and sunny, the kind he liked best. Days like this got him itching to do something, anything, that would get his blood racing and his heart pounding. Inuyasha grinned as a breeze teased his shoulder length black hair. Days like this were made for adventures.

_And I have to waste it going to school._

His grin dropped and his shoulders sagged at the thought. It just didn’t seem fair, especially since it was his birthday too. “Later, Mom, later Gramps,” he called over his shoulder. “I’m off!”

He’d only taken a few steps when the sight of Souta hanging out at the well house’s doorway caught his eye. “Oi, brat!” Inuyasha called. “What are you doing over there? You know you’re not allowed in the well house.”

Souta sent him a pleading look. “But Inuyasha! I think Buyo is down there!”

Inuyasha sighed heavily and walked over to join his brother. “Then go get him. He shouldn’t be down there either.”

Souta gulped and eyed the dark staircase that lead into the shadowy recesses of the well house. “Why do I have to be the one to go get him?”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and affectionately rapped the back of Souta’s head with his knuckles. “’Cause you’re the one looking for him, brat. But if you’re too much of a scaredy cat, then I’ll go instead.” Inuyasha tromped down the stairs, eyes roaming the shadows for a hint of Buyo. As much as Inuyasha liked the old cat, he could be a real pain sometimes.

_Skriiitch, skriiitch._

Inuyasha paused at the unexpected sound, like rats scampering around on wood. His scowl deepened and he crossed his arms over his chest. _Weird. That sounded like it came from inside the well._ But the well was sealed up, so there was no way that Buyo should be down there. The sound came again, raising the hair on the back of Inuyasha’s neck. Something pressed against his leg and Inuyasha jerked away with a strangled gasp. Souta up at the top of the stairs fell back with a high pitched yelp.

“Meow.”

Inuyasha felt his eyebrow twitch as he glared down at Buyo’s serene expression. “Stupid cat,” he grumbled picking him up off the floor.

“What was with freaking out like that, Mr. I’m-So-Brave?” Souta demanded pointing down at him.

Inuyasha glared up at him. “Says the brat who wouldn’t even come down the stairs! And I wasn’t freaking out!”

Before he could start back up the stairs there was a sharp crack of splintering wood, and a malevolent presence wrapped around Inuyasha, freezing him in place. _What is this?_

Souta’s eyes widened in fear and Inuyasha felt a rush of wind at his back as the cover of the well burst open. Hands like vices grasped Inuyasha’s arms as Buyo slid from his grip and dragged him back into the well. The hands flipped Inuyasha around so he could see his attacker, and he found himself staring at a pair of large, bare breasts. This would have been the best moment in all his fifteen years of life if those breasts hadn’t been attached to a body that also had six arms and the bottom half of a centipede.

“The jewel,” the woman hissed with a strange, breathy voice. “You have it. Give it to me!”  Her tongue, longer than humanly possible, snaked out of her mouth and licked his cheek. This contact finally snapped Inuyasha out of his shocked stupor.

“Get off me, you freak!” Inuyasha shouted. He lashed out with his fist, a solid punch that connected squarely with the bug woman’s jaw. A brilliant pink light flashed and the woman shrieked with pain. When the light faded she was gone, and suddenly Inuyasha’s feet were settling on the ground at the bottom of the well.

“The heck was that?” he asked out loud. Inuyasha rubbed his eyes. He could not have seen what he thought he just saw. Freakish bug women didn’t exist! It was impossible. “Maybe I hit my head really hard when I landed.” He glanced around and saw a pale woman’s arm that was badly burned at the stump lying near him. Inuyasha gaped at the appendage for a moment. “Okay, maybe not.”

But either way, the bug woman was gone now, and Inuyasha didn’t feel like sticking around at the bottom of the well waiting for her to come back. Inuyasha tilted his head back and called, “Hey, Souta! Get Gramps for me!”

There was no reply, and Inuyasha blinked in surprise when he realized that where he should be seeing the wooden ceiling of the well house, he was staring up at blue sky. “But that doesn’t make any sense!” He shook his head. He’d figure out what was going on after he got out of the well, and apparently Souta wasn’t going to be any help on that end. “Little brat. He probably ran away in fear or something.”

There were vines growing down the inside of the well that Inuyasha could use to help pull himself up. As he was climbing, it occurred to him that there were no plants growing in the well house, so these vines really shouldn’t be there.

“Worry about it after you get out,” he muttered to himself. Inuyasha made it to the top of the well and what he saw stunned him into silence. It wasn’t just the roof of the well house that was missing; it was the well house itself, the shrine’s courtyard, his house, everything. It was all gone. In its place was a vast forest.

“This is not happening,” Inuyasha said, frantically searching for any familiar landmark. He caught sight of the Sacred Tree in the distance, and relief shot through him. “I’ll be able to find my way home from there,” he said shoving his way through the undergrowth of the forest to get to the tree.

When he finally made it to the miniature clearing that held the Sacred Tree, Inuyasha froze. Pinned to the tree by an arrow was a girl who looked to be about his age. She wore strange, old fashioned looking red clothes, and her long hair was a shimmering silver color. Matching silver dog ears sat on top of her head. Her expression was so peaceful that, if it weren’t for the arrow, he would have thought she was only sleeping.

But she had a freaking _arrow_ sticking out of her!

Inuyasha rushed over, hopping up on some of the raised tree roots so he was level with the girl. He pressed his fingers to her neck searching for a pulse and felt panic rising when he couldn’t find one. “Please don’t be dead,” he muttered. Even without a pulse, she didn’t really feel dead. Her skin was still warm and soft. Inuyasha held his ears over her mouth, listening for her breath, but he couldn’t hear that either.

Inuyasha swore. Warm body or not, he didn’t see how she could still be alive since she didn’t have a pulse and didn’t seem to be breathing. “I need to get her down from here,” he said and he reached out for the arrow that held her in place.

Arrows thudded into the tree beside him and Inuyasha flinched away. “Get away from there!” a man’s voice yelled.

Inuyasha whirled around and saw six men with bows and arrows glaring at him. His fists clenched and his lips pulled back in a snarl as he stared at the bows. “Are you the scum that murdered this girl?” he snapped.

They didn’t answer, but their glares intensified. “Get away from her, or we will shoot,” said one man that was apparently the group’s leader.

Inuyasha wanted nothing more than to pound the man’s face into the dirt. How could they do that? Just murder this girl and then leave her hanging like some sort of twisted trophy? If they hadn’t had arrows pointed at him he’d have done it too. He’d been taking martial arts classes since the time he could walk it seemed, and even at six on one odds Inuyasha was fairly confident that he could take them if they had been unarmed. But since they had bows, one of them was bound to shoot him before he could do any real damage. With no real alternative, Inuyasha stepped away from the tree.

One of the men rushed forward and tied Inuyasha’s hands securely behind his back. The ropes weren’t tied so tight as to be painful, but he definitely wasn’t getting out of them on his own. The men shoved him forward, and the group walked in silence away from the tree.

After only a few minutes of walking they were out of the forest and approaching a small village. The sight was so unexpected that Inuyasha forgot his anger for a moment. The village was composed of a small grouping of thatched huts surrounded by rice paddies. All in all, it looked like a picture from a history textbook.

_What it this supposed to be? Feudal Japan?_

The thought made him glance around at his captors, and Inuyasha finally noticed how they all wore old fashioned clothes, and each had a topknot on their head.

_Oh. Oh crap._

This couldn’t be what he was thinking. It just couldn’t. Time travel wasn’t possible.

_Neither was that freaky bug woman, and she was definitely real._

And time travel would explain why his home and the entire city of Tokyo had disappeared. Matter of fact, if he really had gone back in time this tiny village was probably the start of Tokyo.

_But if I’ve really gone back in time, how do I get home?_

* * *

Kaede walked sedately through the crowd that had gathered around the stranger some of the villagers had captured in Kagome’s Forest. Her good eye narrowed when she caught sight of the stranger for the first time. He was taller than her, with black hair that curled around the collar of his shirt. His clothes were strange, dyed black and made of a material she didn’t recognize. They were far more fitted than anything Kaede was used to seeing. But the young man’s most striking feature was his eyes. Dark purple, they flashed with an inner fire and defiance.

Kaede dipped the branch she carried in a mixture of purified water and salt and splashed it on him. “Demon, be gone!” The boy flinched at the contact, but there was no sizzling like there should have been, nor did he drop his human guise as a kitsune playing a trick would have.

“Stop it, you old hag!” the boy snapped. “I’m not a demon!”

“So I see,” Kaede said, lowering her branch. If the boy was a demon he should have been purified by the water.

“Is he a spy then?” one of the villagers asked.

“If so he’s a foolish one,” Kaede said. “There is nothing here worth conquering.”

But there was something about the boy that seemed familiar. Not his looks; she’d never seen anyone that looked quite like him before. It was something about his expression and his spirit that tugged at old memories in her mind. _Who is this boy?_

Kaede caught his chin in her hand so she could study him better. “Look clever boy, or be a halfwit,” she said.

Anger flashed in his eyes and he tried to jerk away from her hand, only to be held in place by two of the village men. “Who are you calling a halfwit, hag?”

_There._

She could feel it in him, raw power, unused and untested. Kaede hadn’t felt power like that in fifty years. _Could this possibly be?_

“It’s there, though I don’t know what it means,” Kaede said letting go of his chin. “What is your name, boy?”

“Inuyasha,” he said.

“I am Kaede, the priestess of this village,” she said.

His eyes narrowed. “Then are you the one who ordered that girl in the forest murdered?” he asked.

Kaede frowned. “In all my life, there has never been a murder committed in this village.”

“Lady Kaede,” said one of the villagers who had captured Inuyasha, “I think he is speaking of Kagome. He was by her tree when we found him.”

Ah, that. To someone who didn’t know the story, it probably would look like a murder. “That was no murder, and she is not truly dead,” Kaede said. “If you will come with me, I will explain it to you.”

Inuyasha eyed her suspiciously for a moment, and then nodded. “Okay.”

“Untie him please,” Kaede said. Swiftly one of the villagers undid the ropes binding his hands. Kaede turned and started walking towards her hut. She didn’t bother to see if Inuyasha was following. Already, her mind was fifty years in the past.

* * *

Inuyasha followed the old priestess back to her hut where she motioned for him to have a seat on the wooden floor. Inuyasha sat and watched as she started pulling out vegetables to chop for what looked like some sort of stew. “Well?” Inuyasha asked as she remained silent. “What happened with that girl?”

“Kagome,” Kaede said, “is a half-breed. She is half human, half demon. Fifty years ago, she attacked my village in search of the Shikon Jewel, which my elder sister was supposed to protect. In the battle that followed, my sister sealed Kagome to the tree with a sacred arrow, but she suffered her own mortal wound and died after doing so.”

Inuyasha frowned. He vaguely remembered Gramps mentioning the Shikon Jewel in some of his ramblings, but he couldn’t remember what was supposed to be so special about it. All in all, the priestess’s story seemed outlandish to the point of ridiculousness. _Then again, I’m the one who traveled through time. Guess I can’t call anything impossible._

“She’s seriously been stuck to that tree for fifty years?” Inuyasha questioned as Kaede poured the vegetables into her pot of stew.

“Indeed,” Kaede said. “And should remain there for all time thanks to my sister’s spell.”

Inuyasha frowned thoughtfully. _She’s not there in the future, so apparently she gets free at some point._ Well, he supposed it wasn’t any of his business. Still. The girl’s expression had been so peaceful, it was hard for Inuyasha to picture her attacking a village like Kaede said.

“Where do you come from, Inuyasha?” Kaede asked.

“Huh? Oh, Tokyo,” Inuyasha said.

“Tokyo,” Kaede said, carefully pronouncing the word. “I’ve never heard of it. Is it far?”

Inuyasha rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, you could say that. I really need to be getting back.” _Although I’ve no idea how._

“The sun is already setting,” Kaede said dishing him out a bowl of stew. “Stay here for the night and you may leave in the morning if you wish.”

Inuyasha accepted the bowl gratefully as his stomach rumbled in hunger. He hadn’t eaten since that morning. “Thanks, I appreciate it.” He took a bite and was surprised to find the old woman was actually a good cook. He dug into the food with gusto. Before he was even half finished with his bowl, there was a crash from outside, quickly followed by screams. Inuyasha started, dropping his bowl.

“What was that?”

Kaede didn’t answer as she was already rushing for the door. Inuyasha scrambled to follow her. When they got outside, his eyes widened. _It’s the bug woman!_

“Mistress Centipede!” one of the villagers yelled.

“Lady Kaede,” another villager called running up to them, “we’ve tried arrows and spears, but nothing is working!”

Inuyasha watched in horror as her body twisted and lashed out, destroying another house. _This is my fault. I led her here._

Mistress Centipede’s eyes landed on Inuyasha.  “The jewel!” she hissed. “Give it to me!”

Kaede’s one good eye bored into him. “The jewel? You have it still?”

“I don’t know what she’s talking about!” Inuyasha protested. But even so, it was his fault she was here. He had to do something. Too bad his martial arts classes had never covered fighting giant centipede women. “I’ll lead her away from the village!” Inuyasha called to Kaede and took off running back towards the forest. Just as he’d hoped, Mistress Centipede followed him. _Great. I’ve got her attention, so now what? I could really use some help now!_

* * *

In Kagome’s Forest, at the Sacred Tree, there was a pulse of power like a heartbeat.

_Ba-bump. Ba-bump._

For the first time in fifty years, golden eyes blinked open. Slowly, Kagome lifted her head. “Kikyo?” she whispered.

* * *

Inuyasha wasn’t able to keep as much distance between himself and Madame Centipede as he would have liked, but he’d made it out to the forest without her catching him. She lunged for him, hitting the ground just behind his feet. The impact caused a shower of earth that flung Inuyasha farther into the forest and landed him hard on the ground.

“You’re not Kikyo! Who are you?”

Blinking, Inuyasha looked up and saw Kagome frowning down at him from where she was pinned on the Sacred Tree. “You’re awake?” Was that supposed to happen? He didn’t think so from what Kaede had said.

“Who are you?” Kagome repeated. “And why do you smell so much like Kikyo?”

“Inuyasha,” he said getting to his feet. “And who the heck is Kikyo?”

Mistress Centipede burst through the trees, and Inuyasha whirled around, cursing himself for letting his guard down. His sensei would trounce him if he knew about the slip up.

“The jewel! Give it to me!” she screeched.

“You’re starting to sound like a broken record, lady,” Inuyasha said, backing away from her a few steps.

Moving with a speed that belied her size, Mistress Centipede lunged forward and snatched Inuyasha up off the ground. Bearing wicked looking teeth, she leaned down towards his struggling form.

“Get off of me!” he shouted, trying to twist out of her grasp. That pink light flared again like in the well, and the next thing Inuyasha knew he had fallen back to the ground, and Mistress Centipede was screeching over the loss of her remaining five arms.

_Did I do that?_

Kaede and some of the villagers rode up on horses and paused staring wide eyed at the scene. The villagers cried out in alarm.

“Kagome’s awake!”

“Mistress Centipede’s arms!”

“Look out, she’s attacking again!”

Undeterred by the loss of her arms, Mistress Centipede shot down and her teeth sank into Inuyasha’s side and threw him into the air.

Numbly, Inuyasha stared at a perfectly round pink jewel that flew in the air beside him. _That’s the jewel? It was inside me?_

Then he hit the ground and pain lanced through his whole body radiating from the gash in his side. Before he could struggle to his feet, Mistress Centipede used her tail to trap him against the Sacred Tree, his face pressed into Kagome’s stomach. Mistress Centipede leaned down towards the jewel, and Kagome yelled, “Don’t you dare touch that!”

Mistress Centipede paused and glanced over at them scornfully. “I had heard of a half-breed that was seeking the Shikon Jewel. What do you think you can do?”

Kagome’s lips pulled back in a snarl revealing too sharp canine teeth, and her dog ears flattened back on her head. “Inuyasha,” she said, “you think you can pull this arrow out of me?”

Inuyasha blinked, the pain in his side making it harder than usual to think. “What?”

“Pull the arrow out!” she snapped.

“No, Inuyasha!” Kaede shouted. “You must not free Kagome!”

“She’s going to kill you!” Kagome yelled. “Let me help!”

Torn by indecision, Inuyasha watched as Mistress Centipede scooped up the jewel with her tongue and swallowed it. His eyes widened when her severed arms flew back to her body and reattached themselves. Her jaws opened wide, and her skin peeled away to reveal a hideous red and black under layer.

Inuyasha made a decision, and reaching up he grasped the arrow that held Kagome pinned. At his first tug, the arrow disintegrated into nothingness. Without quite knowing how it happened, Inuyasha found himself sprawled on the ground again, Kagome facing off against Madame Centipede a few feet away.

“Insolent wretch,” Mistress Centipede hissed.

Kagome flexed her fingers, bringing Inuyasha’s attention to the wicked looking claws that tipped them. “Return the jewel!”

“Who will make me? You?” Mistress Centipede asked, and lunged for her.

“Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!”

Kagome’s movements were a red blur. Inuyasha didn’t see exactly what Kagome did, but suddenly bloody chunks of centipede were falling to the ground. Inuyasha stared at Kagome in awe. Yes, she was a half demon, but Inuyasha still hadn’t expected her to be so strong.

“Inuyasha, quickly,” Kaede said. “Find the glowing flesh before she regenerates! That’s where the jewel will be.”

Inuyasha heeded her words. The last thing he wanted was to face Mistress Centipede again. “There!” he said pointing when he saw a faint pink glow coming from a hunk of flesh. “The jewel is there!”

Kaede moved quickly for someone her age, reaching into the flesh and feeling around for the jewel. Inuyasha almost gagged at the sight. He didn’t consider himself a squeamish person, but that was just gross.

Kaede pulled the jewel out of the flesh, and Inuyasha blinked as Mistress Centipede’s body disintegrated, leaving only the bones. Kaede walked over to Inuyasha and dropped the jewel into his hands. “Here. This belongs to you now.”

“Me?” Inuyasha said. “What am I supposed to do with it?”

“Nothing,” Kagome said, stepping closer. “Humans can’t use it. It’s no good to you.” She held out one of her dangerously clawed hands. “Why don’t you just hand it over?”

Inuyasha stared at her and her determined golden glare. “Are you _freaking kidding_ me?”


	2. Seekers of the Sacred Jewel

_I guess I should have expected this,_ Inuyasha thought as tension crackled through the air.  _I mean, Kaede did say that Kagome attacked the village to get the jewel.  If she’s willing to attack a whole village, of course she’s willing to fight me._

“You cannot have the Shikon Jewel!” Kaede said firmly.

Kagome glared at her defiantly, but then her nose twitched as she sniffed the air and her eyes widened in surprise.  “Kaede?”  Kagome’s arms dropped to her side her head tilted in confusion.  “Is that you? But how?”

_Or maybe she’s not going to attack me?_   Which Inuyasha was okay with considering he was already injured, but he was getting mixed signals here and he really wanted to know what exactly was going on.

“You have been pinned to the Sacred Tree for fifty years,” Kaede said.  “I have aged in that time.”

Kagome rocked back on her heels, apparently totally floored by the news that she’d basically been in a coma for fifty years.  Despite knowing what she’d done to get the jewel in the past, when Inuyasha saw that look on her face, he couldn’t help but kind of feel sorry for her.

“If it’s been fifty years,” Kagome said, “then is Kikyo…?” She trailed off, leaving her question unspoken.  Kaede apparently understood what she meant though.

“My sister Kikyo died the same day she sealed you to the tree, killed by the mortal wounds you inflicted on her,” Kaede said, narrowing her one good eye at Kagome.

_Wait, Kikyo. That’s who Kagome said I smelled like…I do not smell like a girl!_   Inuyasha scowled and glared at Kagome, not that the girl took any notice of him.  Inuyasha was really starting to feel like a third wheel in this conversation.

“That isn’t possible!” Kagome said.  “I never attacked Kikyo!  I wouldn’t!  She was my friend! You know that, Kaede!”

“I know you pretended to be her friend,” Kaede said without flinching.  “I know that you betrayed her, killing her and attacking the village for the Shikon Jewel.”

Kagome vehemently shook her head, silver hair whipping around her face.  “No, you’ve got it all wrong!” She took a step towards Kaede, and every villager in the area pointed their bows at her.  Kagome froze, and her gaze swept over the villagers’ hard expressions.  Her face crumpled, and suddenly she looked like she might cry.

_Oh, heck no! I am not dealing with a crying girl right now!_

“Hey,” Inuyasha said, gaining everyone’s attention. “I hate to interrupt, but I’m kind of bleeding out over here.”  He looked at Kagome.  “Will you just promise not to try and steal the jewel until we get this mess sorted out at least?”

Swallowing her tears, she nodded.  “I promise.”

“Good,” Inuyasha said. He turned to Kaede.  “Can we please go back to the village so I can get bandaged?”

Inuyasha couldn’t read Kaede’s face, but she nodded.  “Very well.”

Some of the villagers stayed behind to deal with the body of Mistress Centipede, but most went back to the village.  Kagome stayed off to the side, out of everyone’s way, but she followed Inuyasha and Kaede to Kaede’s hut and sat in a corner near the doorway while Kaede bandaged Inuyasha’s side.

“So,” Kaede said without looking up from her work, “you claim not to have attacked the village.”

“Yes,” Kagome said.  “I want the jewel, but I don’t want to hurt anyone to get it.”

_Not what it looked like out in the forest._   Of course, Mistress Centipede had been trying to kill them, so Inuyasha couldn’t blame her for that one.

“Then how is it that I saw you attack the village myself?” Kaede asked.  “And how is it that Kikyo named you as her attacker?”

After a moment of silence, Kagome said, “I don’t know.  I don’t have any idea who attacked you, or why they would pretend to be me.  But it wasn’t, I swear!”

Inuyasha glanced over at her and saw the earnestness in her big golden eyes.  It was weird.  Eyes like hers should have just seemed strange and alien.  But looking at them now, she just seemed honest and sad.

“I believe you,” Inuyasha said.

Kaede looked at him sharply.  “Inuyasha, you mustn’t trust what she says!”

“Look, I’ve met power hungry people before,” Inuyasha said.  Granted, the jerks he was thinking of from his school weren’t likely to murder people for power, but that didn’t mean they weren’t power hungry still.  “I can tell that Kagome isn’t power hungry.”

“There is no other reason to seek the jewel but power,” Kaede said.

Inuyasha looked at Kagome. “Then why do you want to the jewel?”

Kagome glanced away to the side.  “My reasons are personal.”  She met his gaze once more. “But I’m not after power.”

“Okay, I believe that,” Inuyasha said. Kaede snorted with disbelief and moved away from Inuyasha having finished bandaging his wound. “So, are you planning to steal it from me at some point?”

Kagome fidgeted.  “I’d rather not,” she said. “I don’t like the idea of being a thief.  Is there any chance you could give it to me?”

Inuyasha glanced down at the pink jewel in his hand, and for a moment he wondered if maybe he could.  What was he supposed to do with it?

“What’s the deal with this jewel?” Inuyasha asked.  “What does it do that makes everyone want it so bad?”

“The jewel vastly increases the power of those who use it,” Kaede said.  “But it is easily corrupted, and it always does more harm than good.  That is why it was under the care of my sister.  Kikyo was to protect it from those who would misuse its power and keep its energies pure so that the jewel could cause no harm.”  She pinned Inuyasha with her gaze.  “And that is why you must now keep it in your possession at all times, and never let anyone else take it, for you are Kikyo’s reincarnation.”

“Say _what_?” Inuyasha yelped.

“The fact that the jewel was inside you is proof enough,” Kaede said, “but I have also sensed in you the same power that my sister had.”

“That would explain why his scent is so similar to Kikyo’s,” Kagome mused.

Inuyasha stared at them incredulously.  “I am not reincarnated from a _girl_!”

Kaede seemed amused at his outburst.  “Do you really believe that gender matters to the essence of a soul?”

“It matters to _me_!” Inuyasha said.  “I have never been a girl!”

“Whether you choose to accept it or not, you are Kikyo’s reincarnation,” Kaede said. “As such, the duty of protecting the jewel from all who would use it falls to you.” Her gaze moved to Kagome.  “Even those who claim they would not use it for ill.”

“Fine,” Inuyasha grumbled, his entire mood soured by the fact that Kaede insisted he’d been a girl in his previous life.  He yawned suddenly, the day’s events catching up with him.

“Go on to bed,” Kaede told him.  “We can talk more in the morning.”

Tucking the jewel in his pants pocket for safe keeping, Inuyasha gratefully accepted the futon she provided, and in moments he was out like a light.

* * *

When Inuyasha woke the next morning, his whole body was stiff and sore.  He sat up with a grunt, and wrinkled his nose when he smelled himself.  Inuyasha didn’t consider himself a fussy person, but he was covered in dried sweat, blood, and dirt from the day before.  He might not be bad off by the standards of the Feudal Era, he wasn’t sure, but by his standards, he definitely needed a bath.

Kaede was already up and dressed, getting breakfast together.  “Good morning,” she said.

“Morning,” Inuyasha said. He glanced around the hut.  “Where’s Kagome?”

“I believe she was going to patrol the area around the village,” Kaede said.  “Now that the jewel has resurfaced, there will be many who wish to steal it.”

“Can word about the jewel seriously get around that fast?” Inuyasha asked.

“You’d be surprised,” Kaede said.  She handed him a bowl of food.

“Thanks,” Inuyasha said.  “By the way, any chance I could get a bath this morning?”

Kaede nodded.  “After breakfast I will show you the bathing area in the river.”

It didn’t take Inuyasha long to finish eating, so Kaede took him to the bathing area.  It was a ways downstream, outside of the village.

_I guess they want to make sure they’re not bathing in the same area of the river they get their drinking water from._

“You may wish to wash off your clothes while you’re at it,” Kaede said.  “If you need anything, I won’t be far.”

The bathing area was actually a great swimming spot.  A small cliff resulted in a waterfall, and the area beneath the waterfall was more like a pond than a river, before the water flowed out and farther away.  Without hesitating, Inuyasha stripped down and waded in.  The water was cold, but it was a warm enough day that Inuyasha didn’t mind at all.

“This feels nice,” Inuyasha said, rinsing away the dirt and grime that he’d accumulated.  As he washed, Inuyasha’s thoughts turned towards home.  _Mom and Gramps must be worried sick._

They wouldn’t have any idea what had happened to him.  Sure, Souta had seen him get dragged down the well, but somehow Inuyasha doubted that his mom or Gramps would believe Souta’s story.  Heck, Inuyasha probably wouldn’t believe this whole situation if he wasn’t living it.

“I wonder,” Inuyasha said, “falling down the well is what brought me back here.  Is it some kind of time machine or something? Maybe if I jump down it again I’ll end up back home.”

It might not work, but it was the only idea Inuyasha had.  Eager to give it a try, Inuyasha waded out of the water.  As he reached for his clothes, Kagome suddenly landed in front of him.

“Inuyasha, why are you—eek!” Kagome yelped and whipped around so her back was to him.  “Pervert! Why are you naked?”

Face burning, Inuyasha scrambled to put his clothes on.  “You’re the pervert! I was taking a bath!  What are you even doing here?”

“I’m here because you left the village with the jewel!” Kagome said.  “That’s dangerous!  You can’t just go off with it by yourself.  What if you were attacked?”

Irritated, Inuyasha stalked by her. “I’m not helpless you know.”

“Right,” Kagome said, following him.  “You were a ton of help fighting Mistress Centipede.”

Inuyasha bristled at her tone of voice, and at the reminder of how helpless he’d been the night before.  Inuyasha hated feeling helpless.  “Would you just leave me alone?” he snapped.  “It’s not like you care.  You’re just worried about your stupid jewel!”

“That’s not true,” Kagome protested.

“Of course it is,” Inuyasha said. “The jewel is the only reason you’re sticking near me, and it’s probably the only reason you hung around that Kikyo chick.”

Kagome’s head snapped back like he’d slapped her, and for the first time she looked well and truly angry.  “Idiot!  You don’t know _anything_!”  She turned and dashed off into the trees, gone from Inuyasha’s sight in seconds.

Inuyasha winced, knowing his words had been uncalled for; how many times in the past had his temper gotten him in trouble?  It wasn’t Kagome’s fault she was stronger than him.  _What would Mom say if she’d seen that?_   He cringed as he imaged the disappointed look she’d surely wear.  He also knew she’d order him to apologize for his words.

Inuyasha’s pride bucked at the thought.  The only thing he hated almost as much as feeling weak was having to apologize.  But, as a friend frequently told him, if he didn’t like to apologize then he shouldn’t lose his temper.

Swearing under his breath, Inuyasha stomped off in the direction Kagome had gone.  Hopefully she wouldn’t be too hard to find.  He hadn’t gone far when some men stepped out the bushes in front of him, blocking off his path.  They were rough looking men, dirty and dressed in old, rusty armor.  They fanned out in front of him, and Inuyasha took a step back, distrusting them on sight.

“So, this is the guy Boss wanted us to catch,” one of the men said. “Don’t know why.  He don’t look special.”

“Orders is orders,” another man said.  “Now, we can do this easy, or we can do this hard.”

Inuyasha smirked and cracked his knuckles.  “You guys are just in time. I needed someone to vent my frustrations on.”

One of the men lunged at him, but Inuyasha ducked under him and then hit the man with a roundhouse kick to the head.  He dropped like a ton of bricks.

_One down, four to go._

Two came after him at once them, but Inuyasha easily dodged their blows. They might have been bandits, but given their skill level they couldn’t have been very successful at it.

Inuyasha caught an incoming punch and threw the bandit into one of him companions.  “At least give me a challenge!” Inuyasha said.

The last two decided to grant his wish and drew their swords.  Inuyasha wasn’t worried.  If they were as good at fighting as their friends had been, swords wouldn’t do them any good.

Bellowing their war cry, the two bandits charged at him.  Inuyasha waited until they were almost close enough to stab him and then jumped up into the air, flipping over their heads so he landed behind them.  Unable to slow their momentum in time, the two bandits ran straight into a tree.

Eyeing the unconscious bandits, Inuyasha grinned. “I think Sensei would be proud of this.”

“Inuyasha!”

Inuyasha turned in surprise to see Kagome running up to him.  “I heard fighting! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Inuyasha said.  “I handled it.”

Kagome blinked in surprise as she took in the sight of the unconscious bandits.  “I can see that.”

Then Inuyasha remembered why he’d wanted to find Kagome.  “Hey,” he said, “I wanted to apologize for earlier.  What I said…Well, it was stupid, and I shouldn’t have said it.”

Kagome looked surprised at his words, and then her expression softened.  “Thanks,” she said.  “And I’m sorry about what I said too.”  She nudged one of the bandits with her toes. “You were obviously right; you’re not helpless.”

Inuyasha smirked, feeling more than a little pleased with her words.

“We should head back to the village,” Kagome said.  “They were probably after the jewel.”

Inuyasha sighed.  “It’s just so weird for so many people to fight over a piece of rock.”

Kagome looked away, and Inuyasha belatedly realized that his words may have been insensitive, since she wanted the jewel too.  _I wonder why she wants it so badly._   Inuyasha didn’t press the issue though. She’d already said her reasons were private, and he didn’t like to pry.

They made it back to the village and found Kaede.  Inuyasha quickly warned her there were bandits lurking nearby.

“If they waited until you were alone to attack, then they probably won’t attack the village,” Kaede said.  “But I think this is a sign that we should begin your training immediately.”

“My training?” Inuyasha asked blankly.  When had he agreed to that?

“Yes, your training,” Kaede said.  “When trained properly, your spiritual powers will prove very dangerous to demons.  But if they are not trained, they will be useless to you.”

“My spiritual powers,” Inuyasha said. “You mean like that thing I did to Mistress Centipede? I could learn how to do that whenever I wanted?”

Kaede nodded gravely.  “You could.”

_Then I wouldn’t need Kagome to protect me._

“Okay,” he said eagerly. “Let’s get started.”

Kaede led him to a clear area towards the edge of the village where they wouldn’t be disturbed.  Kagome followed them, and jumped into a tree when Kaede had Inuyasha sit down.  Inuyasha figured she was probably standing guard in case anyone attacked.

“We will start with meditation,” Kaede said.  “It is the easiest way to learn to access your power.”

Inuyasha wasn’t too surprised by that.  His sensei always ordered a time of meditation before they began his martial arts training, so it was something Inuyasha was used to doing.  With the ease gained by years of practice, Inuyasha shifted into the proper sitting position for meditation, closed his eyes, and began to take the proper breaths.

A few minutes into the meditation, Inuyasha heard Kaede speak.  “Inuyasha, I want you to look inside yourself,” she said, her voice calm so as not to break him out of his meditation.  “Reach inward, feel for your power.”

Inuyasha turned his mind inward, searching for that warm glow he had felt when he’d used his power against Mistress Centipede.  The power rose to meet him, and in his mind’s eye, Inuyasha could see the pink light of his spiritual power.  He could feel it pushing and pulling at his senses, like waves on the ocean.

“I found it,” he said.

“Good,” Kaede said.  “Now, try to guide it outside of yourself.”

Inuyasha tugged at the power, but it pulled back, slipping away from him like water through his fingers.  He tried again, with the same result.  Inuyasha growled in frustration.  It was _his_ power.  Why couldn’t he get it to do what he wanted?

“Enough,” Kaede’s voice said sharply, snapping Inuyasha out of his meditative state.

Inuyasha’s eyes flew open, and he was surprised to see that it was already well past noon.  He’d been working at his meditation for hours, though it had felt like mere minutes.  But now that he was out of his meditative state, Inuyasha noticed how hungry he was, and how stiff his body felt from sitting still for hours on end.

“You did well today,” Kaede said as Inuyasha stood and started stretching to work the stiffness out of his muscles.

“Well?” Inuyasha scoffed.  “I never managed to get a hold of my power.”

“No,” Kaede said, “but you found it.  That is more than most manage their first day of training.”  She eyed him speculatively.  “How long have you been meditating?”

“I started martial arts training when I was four, and Sensei always makes us start training with meditation,” Inuyasha said.  “It comes pretty easily to me at this point.”

“That will certainly benefit you in your training to become a priest,” Kaede said.  She stood.  “Come, I will prepare us some lunch.  Afterwards, I will begin teaching you how to use the bow.”

“A bow?” Inuyasha asked.  He hadn’t seen that one coming.

“I know the staff is a more traditional weapon for a priest,” Kaede said, “but I am not well versed in the art of fighting with a staff.  However, I do know the bow, and you will need a weapon to help you in any fight against demons.  No human can hope to take them in hand to hand combat, unless it is a very weak demon.”

“Right,” Inuyasha said.

_Geez, I never would have thought I’d have to end up worrying about being attacked by demons._   It probably never would have been an issue if he hadn’t fallen through the well and come to the past.

_Which reminds me; I’ve got to try jumping down the well again to see if it takes me home._

But putting the attempt off for a few more hours wouldn’t make a big difference.  He’d wait until Kaede was done with her lessons for the day, and then he’d see about trying to get back home.


	3. Yura of the Demon Hair

By the time that Inuyasha had finished his first day of training with the bow it had been time for dinner, so he'd figure he'd at least stay long enough to eat before trying out the well. Then after eating he'd been really tired, and it was getting dark anyway, so he'd figured he may as well go to sleep and leave in the morning.

So it was that Inuyasha didn't find himself heading out towards the woods until late morning the next day. "Where are you going?" Kagome asked, dropping down out of the sky to land beside him. Inuyasha found he was getting rather used to her appearing this way.

"I'm heading out to the Bone Eater's Well," Inuyasha said.

Kagome frowned. "What for? It's just a dry well."

Inuyasha hesitated. He hadn't actually told anybody yet how he'd come to be here, and he wasn't sure whether or not Kagome would believe him. But really, what did he have to lose by telling her?

"Well, you see," Inuyasha started, "I'm actually from about five hundred years in the future, give or take some years. The other day I fell down the well and ended up here, in this time. I'm hoping the well will also take me back to my own time. If it doesn't…" Inuyasha trailed off as the seriousness of his situation fully hit him for the first time. He swallowed. "If it doesn't, I probably won't ever see my family again."

Kagome was quiet for a minute, and Inuyasha thought she might not believe him. He wouldn't really blame her if she didn't. Finally, she said, "Then for your sake, I hope it does work. I can't think of anything worse than losing your family."

Something in her tone of voice made Inuyasha look over at her, and he saw real pain reflected in her golden eyes. "What happened to your family?" Inuyasha asked, suddenly certain that Kagome was alone in the world.

Kagome bit her lip and looked away, so Inuyasha hastened to add, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But if you want to talk, I'll listen."

"My father was a dog demon," Kagome said. "He was very powerful; Lord of the Western Lands, in fact. My mother was a human princess that he fell in love with. On the day I was born, my father had a battle with a dragon, Ryukotsusei. He won, but the battle left him badly injured. He would have been okay if he'd rested after his battle, but he found out that my mother was under attack. Instead of resting, he came to my mother's rescue. Because of that, he died from his injuries, so I never got to meet him."

Kagome lapsed into silence, so Inuyasha said, "He sounds like a good person."

"Based on what I've been told, he was," Kagome said. "My mother raised me by herself. Only, when I was still young she got sick and died. There was nothing anyone could do. But once she was gone, the castle folk banished me."

Inuyasha stopped walking, incredulous. "They banished you? As a kid? Why?"

Kagome looked up at him. "When you're a half breed, nobody wants you. Humans think you're no better than a demon, and demons see half breeds as lower than humans. It's just how things are."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Inuyasha said. "No one can help who their parents are or how they were born. It's not like you chose to be a half demon. And even if you had, I still don't see why it should matter."

Kagome stared at him with wide eyes, her mouth partially open in surprise.

"What?" Inuyasha said defensively at her look.

"Kikyo said the same thing to me, once," Kagome said. "She used different words, but she said basically the same thing."

Inuyasha shifted his weight, still uncomfortable with being compared to Kikyo. "Yeah, well, at least she got something right."

He started walking again, but Kagome caught his sleeve. He paused and looked back at her. "You and her are the only ones who've ever said that to me before," Kagome said. She smiled the sweetest, most sincere smile Inuyasha had ever seen on any girl. "Thank you."

Inuyasha could feel his face heating up, and he quickly looked away. Clearing his throat, he said, "Yeah, sure, whatever."

They made it to the well and Inuyasha stared down into the bottom. I really hope this works.

"Hey," Inuyasha said, looking back at Kagome. "If the well works and I can travel back and forth from my time to here, I'll come back and visit. I promise."

Kagome nodded, clasping her hands behind her back. "I'll look forward to it."

Taking a deep breath, Inuyasha braced himself and jumped.

* * *

Kagome stepped forward and peered down the well, half expecting to see Inuyasha glaring up at her. But there was nothing; Inuyasha was gone, as if he'd never existed, and he'd taken the jewel with him. Kagome sighed and looked away. "I should have taken the jewel when I had the chance."

But how could Kagome steal from the only person she knew that didn't hate her? She couldn't bring herself to hurt Inuyasha, not now when he was the closest thing she had to a friend.

"And he said he'd be back," Kagome said, turning away from the well. "He promised." But Kagome knew that promises were easily forgotten, and a part of her selfishly wished that the well hadn't worked and he'd been stuck here in this time with her.

Kagome froze when she sensed a dark presence nearby. Her head snapped up and she sniffed the air as her ears twitched, trying to locate the source of the feeling.

"Who's there?" Kagome snapped, falling into a defensive stance.

Someone giggled, and Kagome knew that the sound could only bode ill for her. A female demon appeared then, floating down out of the sky. She had short black hair, bright red eyes, and wore a skimpy black outfit.

"I heard there was a half demon after the jewel," she said in a sugary sweet voice that set Kagome's teeth on edge. "That must be you!"

"And who are you?" Kagome asked.

"My name is Yura," the woman said. "Now tell me, where is the Shikon Jewel?"

"It's gone," Kagome said, suddenly glad that Inuyasha had taken the jewel with him into the future. Yura was most definitely bad news, and the last thing they needed was for her to get her hands on the Shikon Jewel.

Yura's eyes narrowed. "Where has it gone?"

"Nowhere you can get it," Kagome snapped in reply.

"Then I guess I don't need you!" Yura said and made a slashing motion with her arm.

Something Kagome couldn't see slammed into her chest, knocking her back and to the ground. _If I wasn't wearing my Robe of the Fire Rat, that probably would have gone completely through me. Whatever it is._

Yura made another motion with her hands, but Kagome still couldn't see whatever it was that Yura was attacking her with. Taking a chance, Kagome jumped to the side, but the thing slammed into her again. This time, instead of knocking her to the ground, the strange material wrapped around her wrists and ankles, holding her up in the air. Kagome struggled against her bonds, but whatever the invisible material was, it was tough.

"You know," Yura said thoughtfully, drifting closer. "You do have pretty silver hair. I ought to keep it for my collection." Yura pulled her short sword out of the sheath she wore on her hip and took careful aim. "Hold still now; I want to get a clean cut."

Kagome's eyes widened as Yura flew at her with the sword; tied up as she was, she had no way to dodge Yura's blow. Then an arrow flew in from Kagome's left and pierced Yura's side. Yura fell back with a pained scream, and Kagome's bonds loosened enough that she was able to tear out of them.

Kagome landed lightly on the ground and looked to the side to find Kaede, who already had another arrow ready to fire.

"Where is Inuyasha?" Kaede asked.

"He went home," Kagome said, dashing over to the old woman's side.

Kaede looked over at her sharply. "What? We need him for this!"

"How were we supposed to know that?" Kagome asked.

"You old hag," Yura snarled, interrupting their conversation. Her wide eyes had a crazed look to them, and her side where the arrow had pierced her was badly burned. "You'll pay for that!" She jerked her arm in a sharp throwing gesture, so Kagome immediately moved in front of Kaede with her arms crossed in front of her face to use her sleeves as a shield. Yura's invisible weapon hit her hard, but Kagome was braced for impact this time and held her ground.

"You must get Inuyasha," Kaede said.

"Okay," Kagome said through gritted teeth, "but first I'm getting you out of here!" If she didn't, Yura was sure to kill Kaede, and Kagome had no intentions of letting such a thing happen.

Turning, Kagome scooped Kaede up and ran.

* * *

When the pink light faded, Inuyasha found himself standing in the dark bottom of the well. He looked up and didn't see blue skies, but the brown underside of the well house roof. He leaned back against the side of the well, and let out a breath of air. If there was a roof over the well, then he was home.

"It worked," he said. "I'm back."

He heard the door to the well house rattle open, and then Souta's voice was saying, "I'm telling you, Grandpa, a monster dragged him down the well!"

"But we checked the well, Souta," Gramp's voice said. "Are you sure you weren't dreaming?"

"Yo, Gramps!" Inuyasha called. "Can you toss a rope or something down here so I can climb out?"

Seconds later Gramps and Souta were leaning over the edge of the well. "Inuyasha?" Gramps said incredulously.

Inuyasha grinned up at their stunned faces. "Are you going to help me out or what?" he asked.

It took a few minutes for Gramps and Souta to find a rope, and then they tossed it down the well for him. As soon as Inuyasha was out, Gramps was scolding him. "Where have you been, young man? We've been worried sick about you! You could have at least called us!"

"Let's find Mom first, and then I'll tell you both what happened," Inuyasha said.

They went to the house where Mrs. Higurashi was working in the kitchen. Inuyasha knew the moment he saw her that something was wrong; her movements were mechanical and stiff, her shoulders bunched and tense.

"Mom?" Inuyasha said.

Her head snapped up and for a moment she just stared at him. Then tears filled her eyes and she dropped the food she was preparing to wrap Inuyasha in a tight hug. "Inuyasha! I was so worried! What happened to you?"

Guilt ate at him as he hugged his mother back. As soon as he'd thought of trying the well to get home he should have done it, but he hadn't given any thought to how worried his family would be about him.

"Sorry, Mom," Inuyasha said. "I wasn't sure how to get home at first."

She pulled back, frowning at him. "What are you talking about?"

"It's a long story," Inuyasha said. "Maybe we should sit down?"

They sat around the kitchen table. "You were dragged down the well by that monster, right?" Souta said.

"Yeah," Inuyasha said. He looked at Gramps and his mom. "I know it sounds crazy, but I was. And then, when I got to the bottom of the well, I was five hundred years in the past."

Inuyasha told them what had happened, how he'd found Kagome, about Kaede and her village, and about Mistress Centipede and the sacred jewel. As proof Inuyasha pulled the jewel out of his pocket and showed it to them.

Gramps examined the jewel. "So this is the Shikon Jewel?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "That's what everyone there said."

"Inuyasha," his mom said frowning, "this is a very difficult story to believe."

"There's no way he's lying," Souta said. "Inuyasha is the worst liar ever. He's telling the truth."

Inuyasha glared at his little brother, not entirely sure he appreciated this defense.

"The boy has a point," Gramps said, setting the jewel back down on the table. "And I think if Inuyasha were going to lie to us, he'd make it something a little more believable."

"True," Mrs. Higurashi said.

"Well," Gramps said, standing up. "The jewel should be safe here. I'll just seal up the well so that nothing else can come through."

"You can't seal it up!" Inuyasha protested.

His family all looked at him. "Why not?" Gramps asked.

"You aren't planning to go back there, are you?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

"Well, yeah," Inuyasha said. "I promised Kagome that I'd visit her."

Souta grinned and pointed a finger at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha has a girlfriend!"

"She is not my girlfriend!" Inuyasha snapped, swiping at Souta's hand. Souta dodged out of his reach. Inuyasha turned back to Gramps and his mother. "Look, it's just that she doesn't have any family or friends back there, and people judge her because she's a half breed. She doesn't deserve that, and anyway, I promised."

"Well, I suppose it would be okay, since we'll know where you are," Mrs. Higurashi finally said.

Inuyasha grinned and relaxed. "Thanks, Mom."

"Inuyasha has a girlfriend!" Souta said in a sing song voice.

Inuyasha grin disappeared and his eyebrow twitched. "That's it! Come here you little brat!"

Inuyasha had just managed to catch Souta in the living room when their front door swung open. The brothers froze and stared at the figure outlined by the sunlight.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha sputtered.

Kagome's golden eyes focused on him, and she took a few steps into the house. "Inuyasha, you've got to come back right now!"

"How did you get here?" Inuyasha asked.

"Through the well," she said impatiently. "Now we've got to go!"

"Hold on, just a minute!" Mrs. Higurashi said walking forward.

Kagome tensed as Mrs. Higurashi reached out to her, and then looked stunned when Mrs. Higurashi reached up and rubbed her ears.

"Are these real?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

Souta rushed over. "Oh, me next! I want to touch them!"

"Mom!" Inuyasha protested. "You can't just touch someone's ears!"

"It's okay," Kagome said as Mrs. Higurashi backed off. "But, Inuyasha, we need to go now!"

"What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked.

"A demon named Yura showed up looking for the jewel," Kagome said. "Kaede helped me fight her off temporarily, but now she's out for Kaede's blood!"

"Is Kaede okay?" Inuyasha asked.

"For now," Kagome said. "I've got her hidden, but she's too old for this fight, and I have to have help from someone. Yura attacks with hair, but it's invisible to me. Kaede could see it though, and she said you should be able to see it too."

"She attacks with hair?" Inuyasha repeated.

"Trust me, it's a lot more dangerous than it sounds," Kagome said. "And we need to go!"

Inuyasha nodded. "Okay, let's go." If this Yura was on a rampage and couldn't find either the jewel or Kaede, she might decide to take it out on the village, and Inuyasha couldn't just stand back and let that happen.

"Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi said with a worried frown. "Be careful."

Inuyasha nodded. "I will."

Kagome and Inuyasha went back to the well house. "Didn't think I'd be going back quite this soon," Inuyasha said.

"Sorry," Kagome said.

"Why?" Inuyasha asked. "It's not your fault."

"Just be careful," Kagome said. "Yura is a lot more dangerous than Mistress Centipede was."

_And I was next to useless against Mistress Centipede. Great._

But there was no way he was going to tell Kagome he was nervous, so he just forced a grin and said, "Don't worry. I've got this."

They jumped down the well together, and that pink light swirled up around them. It faded away, and they landed softly at the bottom of the well. Without asking permission, Kagome wrapped an arm around Inuyasha's waist and jumped up to the top of the well.

_Okay, she has got to stop carrying me._

What he saw at the top of the well quickly chased away thoughts of his discomfort however. Strands of hair crisscrossed the clearing at random, reminding Inuyasha of laser beams in an action movie. "Whoa," Inuyasha said. "How did all this get here?"

"All what?" Kagome asked. "Is it more hair?"

"You seriously can't see this?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome shook her head. "Not at all."

"It's like a spider web," Inuyasha said.

"If it's like a web, maybe we can follow it back to Yura," Kagome said.

"I don't see how," Inuyasha argued. "There are so many different hairs, and they're all going in different directions."

Then one strand of hair in particular caught his eye. It seemed to almost be glowing a little. "Hold on, that one might work," Inuyasha said. "Follow me exactly, so you don't break the hairs. We don't need to let Yura know where we are if we can help it."

Inuyasha followed the hair, carefully ducking under or stepping over the other hairs that crisscrossed their path. By mimicking his movements, Kagome managed to avoid snapping the hairs as well. Wherever Yura was holed up, it seemed to be several miles away from the well.

"Are we almost there?" Kagome asked quietly. "This is taking a while."

"The element of surprise is always worth it," Inuyasha replied. A shiver traveled up his spine. "And yeah, I think we're almost there."

He dropped to the ground and belly crawled the last few feet to some bushes. Carefully peeking through the leaves, Inuyasha found they were on the edge of a clearing. Inside the clearing was a giant hairball, nearly as big as his house. The clearing was crisscrossed by ropes of hair as thick as Inuyasha's arm.

"What do you see?" Kagome whispered in his ear.

"Giant hairball," Inuyasha whispered back. "This must be Yura's home base. But I don't see her."

"Me neither," Kagome said. "Where do you think she is?"

"If she's not here, it's almost guaranteed she's causing trouble somewhere else," Inuyasha growled.

Kagome bit her lip. "Do you think she's attacking the village?"

"Don't know," Inuyasha said. "Let's get her attention, just in case."

Inuyasha stood and walked into the clearing, still ducking and stepping over the ropes of hair as he approached the hairball. "How about we start by messing up her nest?" He picked up a stick off the ground and stabbed it at the giant hairball. A cool, tingling sensation rushed down his arm, and the stick flared with a pink light that caused the hairball to shudder and then burst open where Inuyasha had stabbed it. Skulls with hair still attached spilled out and Inuyasha stumbled back from them with a yelp. "Why are there skulls inside this thing?" he gasped.

"Yura controls hair," Kagome pointed out. "Where did you think she got it?"

Inuyasha stared at her. How could she be calm about it? Yura had to have murdered hundreds, maybe thousands of people to get this much hair. Why did Kagome seem to think it wasn't surprising at all?

But now wasn't time for those questions. Inuyasha forced himself to look at the nest of skulls and hair again. Looking up at it, Inuyasha saw a skull deeper inside of it that was bright red. "That looks important," Inuyasha said. In this case, important probably meant he should break it. But he didn't fancy the idea of climbing up that hill of skulls.

Swallowing his pride, Inuyasha said, "Kagome, I need you to get me up there," he said pointing.

Kagome obligingly wrapped her arm around his waist again and jumped up in the direction he had said. They landed high amidst the skulls, and Inuyasha winced as he felt them shift under his shoes and clack together.

_If this isn't nightmare fuel, I don't know what is._

But they were close to the red skull, so Inuyasha started climbing up towards it.

"Get out of my hair!"

The skulls beneath Inuyasha surged, causing Inuyasha to lose his footing and fall. Ropes of hair snapped out and wrapped around his wrists yanking him up into the air where he saw that Kagome was similarly tied up. A woman that must have been Yura stood on a rope of hair between them.

 _What is it with demon women and not being decently covered?_ Inuyasha wondered as he stared at her mostly revealed cleavage. Not that Inuyasha was complaining; he just wasn't used to it.

"You," Yura said snapping Inuyasha out of his thoughts. "You're the one who has the jewel!"

A thinner rope of hair reached out and pulled the jewel from his pants pocket. "Give that back!" Inuyasha said, pulling against his bonds to no avail. Yura was causing them enough trouble without the jewel; Inuyasha didn't want to know how powerful she'd be with the jewel.

An arrow cut through the air, severing the rope of hair that held the jewel. The jewel fell to the ground as everyone looked to see where the arrow had come from. Inuyasha's jaw dropped when he saw Kaede standing at the edge of the clearing, fitting another arrow to her bow.

"What do you think you're doing, grandma?" Inuyasha shouted.

"Saving you two, apparently," Kaede said calmly.

"Old hag," Yura growled, lunging towards her, only to be forced to dodge another of Kaede's arrows. The arrow flew past Yura and severed the hair pinning one of Kagome's hands. Then Kagome was able to use her claws to free herself.

Kagome attacked Yura, and while they were busy Kaede shot another arrow to free Inuyasha. He fell heavily to the ground, and immediately started looking for the jewel.

_Where'd it go, where'd it go?_

Inuyasha spotted it, lying beneath the place where Yura and Kagome were fighting. Inuyasha rushed for it, but Yura caught sight of him and said, "The jewel is mine!" She threw her sword at Inuyasha who had to dodge to the side. The blade buried itself deep into the ground.

Desperate for a weapon of some kind, Inuyasha grabbed the sword, and a small flash of pink light disintegrated the hairs that had been tied to the sword to control its movements.

Yura was forced to dodge another arrow from Kaede and a swipe Kagome's claws. This gave Inuyasha just enough time to scramble forward and grab the jewel.

_We've got to end this fast! That was way too close._

Inuyasha remembered the red skull and ran back towards the giant hairball.

"Inuyasha, behind you!" Kaede called.

Inuyasha turned to see a giant spike of hair coming straight for him. He raised the sword in a pitiful defense, but suddenly Kagome was there. The hair slammed into her, then widened and wrapped around her like a cocoon, leaving only her head uncovered. The hair lifted her back up towards Yura who was glaring down at Inuyasha.

"Hand over the jewel," she said, "or your little puppy here is dead."

"Don't do it Inuyasha!" Kagome cried.

"You must not give her the jewel!" Kaede said.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth, sorely wishing Yura was in range of the sword he was holding. Giving Yura the jewel was a bad idea; she'd probably just kill them all anyway. But he couldn't knowingly sentence Kagome to death either.

"You want the jewel?" Inuyasha asked. "Fine, then take it!"

Inuyasha tossed the jewel up in the air, and as it came down he swung the sword at it with all his strength. His intention was to use the sword like a bat, knocking the jewel so far away that Yura would hopefully be so distracted trying to find it that they'd be able to defeat her.

That wasn't how it played out.

When the sword came in contact with the jewel, the jewel flared so brightly that Inuyasha couldn't look directly at it. Then with a force that knocked Inuyasha back, the jewel shattered, pieces streaking through the air in all directions.

When the light faded, lying on the ground was a single pink shard of the jewel.

"You broke the jewel," Yura said, staring at the shard. "You broke the jewel!"

"I didn't mean to," Inuyasha protested. "You'd think a magic jewel like that would be unbreakable or something!"

Yura's lips pulled back in a snarl. "Die!"

An arrow hit Yura in the back before she could attack him. "Go, Inuyasha!" Kaede called as Yura screamed in pain.

Inuyasha didn't need to be told twice. He took off at a sprint for the hairball and jumped up the skull hill towards the red skull. He scrambled up the hairball, not looking back to see if Yura was attacking him or not, and as soon as he was in range Inuyasha pulled back his arm and stabbed the skull.

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder to see Yura's body disintegrate. Slowly, the hair and skulls beneath him also faded away, and Inuyasha soon found himself sitting on the ground. Kagome dropped down from the cocoon of hair she'd been trapped in and Kaede walked forward to meet them. The elderly priestess paused long enough to collect the jewel shard and bring it over to Inuyasha. Numbly, Inuyasha held out his hand for the shard and Kaede dropped it in his hand.

"That shard still contains the power of the jewel," Kaede said. "If a demon gets a hold of it, it will still cause them to become far more powerful than they already are."

"And now they've all been scattered to who knows where," Kagome said. She glared at Inuyasha. "What were you thinking?"

"I didn't know it would break!" Inuyasha said. "I was trying to save you!"

Kagome's expression softened, just a little. "I know. I'm sorry."

"You will have to collect them," Kaede said. "Inuyasha, you are the only one who has the ability to sense jewel shards. You and Kagome will have to work together to find them all before they fall into the wrong hands."

Inuyasha nodded. He'd screwed up big time, and now it was his responsibility to fix it. How many people are going to suffer because of my mistake? He didn't even want to think about it.

"Guess I'll be here a lot more than I thought," Inuyasha said, using the sword to push himself up to his feet.

"We'd better check on the village," Kagome said. "Yura may have attacked it."

"Let's go," Inuyasha said. He clutched the shard in his hand as they went back towards the village. Somehow, that one small shard felt a hundred times heavier than the entire jewel ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally posted at fanfiction.net, under the pen name Ink Outside the Lines. If you're impatient, the complete version of this story is already posted over there. Posting this over here mostly to see how AO3 works and if I'm going to like it.


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